We were inseparable friends for 2 years in high school, and that's all we were! Only after a strongly worded rant from one of our friends on New Year's Eve 2013, did we give us a chance. One midnight kiss and ten days later, Matt had already told me he loved me and the rest was history.

I had told Ali that we were getting dinner with my boss (which she assumed was the reason for my nervous pacing before our walk to the beach), so she was dressed to impress with a beautiful white dress that I had manipulated her into thinking she wanted to wear. When we made it to the beach and her feet hit the sand, she caught a glimpse of the rose petals, candles, and guitarist set up on the oceanfront. The scene proved to be a little too much for her and she froze in place. Really. I had to practically drag her to roses! With a guitarist playing our song and a gorgeous sunset behind us, I asked her the question I had known was coming for a decade.